Rapids: Sounders, fans (and turf) tough combo

Here's some of what the Colorado Rapids had to say tonight after a 2-0 loss to the Sounders ended their season:

Coach Oscar Pareja (On the team’s performance…) “This stadium, against one of the toughest teams in the league, with this atmosphere, to perform the way that they did today, with that energy and that level of commitment with the game, I’m proud of what the boys have done during this season. I feel bad for them because I know they wanted to advance, but that’s the game.” (On starting German Mera…) “We have two games in three days, turf, there are some players that suffer a little bit more than others. We wanted to bring some help in the air in that part of the game that the Sounders is strong, so we choose to play German in that part of the field, to strengthen in that aerial game that Seattle would bring.” (On Mera’s performance…) “Good. I thought all in all it was good. The challenges in the air, that was where we plan it. We wanted to be strong in that part and I thought he did well.” (On the atmosphere…) “With a crowd like the crowd that attend this game tonight, with the players and the effort and with everything that involved, this game, it’s tough to play it in a field like that, with the turf, with all my respect. But that’s what it is and we have to adjust and it was a difficult surface for both teams.” (On his second year as head coach…) “My philosophy is about every day and every game. I don’t plan anything. I want to win every game, whether it’s in the season, whether it’s in the playoffs or the offseason and that’s the way I feel, that’s the way I play the game. If you ask me today, I feel terrible. I’m not happy, obviously. I can see great things that happened in the season, but we are competitors here and obviously there is some bitter in this result. But I say we keep moving forward and nothing else we can do.” Defender Drew Moor(On the result…) “It was disappointing. I’m certainly proud of the boys for leaving it all out on the field. I think for one thing, I wish we would have start off a little brighter. [It was] a playoff game – it’s different. If we start the game the way we finished the second half, I think we give ourselves a little better chance.” (On the venue…) “It’s always difficult here – it’s a tough place to play. Not that I thought we got off to a poor start by any means. I just think we lacked that kind of bite – that urgency – that we needed to start the game with. It eventually did come after that first goal, but it’s too late by then.” (On the future…) The young guys aren’t young guys anymore. They aren’t kids, they’re men, and they proved that over the course of the season. My dream is that everybody comes back and we start fresh again next January.” (On Seattle’s second goal…) “We were pushed up, trying to get that equalizer. It was a good piece of play by Eddie Johnson but I think we needed to play the throw in a little tighter being a man up. Dempsey got the ball with too much space. We were on the same page, but credit to Eddie for doing what he can do.”

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